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After braving the cold for 6 hrs, the wife and I purchased a black Friday special at 4am this year as a Christmas present to each other to start a bedroom HT. Well, me outside and her in the car sleeping.

Loving it so far... picture is great... and although its not 3D I really cant see us watching 3D in the bedroom unless they start making porn in 3D... lol... kidding. Or am I ? Anyways, for $500 I really couldn't turn it down. Anyone have one? Know anything about it?

2. What convinced you to purchase this particular "Model". -
I went through 5 Samsung TV's - finally got a refund and bought what I should have in the first place!

3. What you like best about your Plasma.
Love the pic quality, build quality and the fact it is buzz free :P

4. What you don't like about your Plasma.
Wish it had a swivel stand, though wall mounting will negate this anyway,
The remote is really kind of poor for a high end product, would at least expect back light - end of the day harmony one fixes this

For some reason it defaults to 50hz when i set it 24hz on some devices though it is probably user error and i will read up on this

Wish it used blutooh for 3d

5. What "Feature(s)" you wish your Plasma had.
Wish it had swivel base, back lit remote

6. What advice or suggestion would you make to the "Manufacture" about your Plasma.

Get a swivel base as standard, and spend more than $2 on the remote for a premium plasma.. PLUS use bletooth for the 3d glasses

Also work on upgrading the menu system a little, Samsungs D series menu were really nice. Wish they spent as much time on hardware as they did on software!

7. What was your biggest "Surprise" after you received your Plasma.

How much better the SD content looked compared to the 5 samsung plasmas/LED's i had before.

8. What "Problems or Issues" have you had with your Plasma.

Remembering 24hz on my WD Live but it could be my fault

9. Do you really think that todays "Prices" are worth it.

4k for a 65" plasma, well not really but you get what you pay for.

10. Any additional information that you want to add is encouraged.

Was great getting the thing out of the box, connecting it up and everything working!!! I went through a C 63" sammy, a D64" sammy and they were very crap compared.

6. What advice or suggestion would you make to the "Manufacture" about your Plasma. I wish that the power cord on the back was flush with the rest of the TV, I had to go through a couple of mounts to find one that worked.

7. What was your biggest "Surprise" after you received your Plasma. I haven't had any.

8. What "Problems or Issues" have you had with your Plasma. I had trouble finding a mount that worked with it.

4. What you don't like about your Plasma.
Wish it had a swivel stand, though wall mounting will negate this anyway,
The remote is really kind of poor for a high end product, would at least expect back light - end of the day harmony one fixes this

That's odd, the remote to my ST30 has a backlight. It really doesn't matter since I'm using my Harmony One, anyway.

Love it love it Love it. I didn't pay for a bunch of crap I don't need. For less than a grand I got a premo 50 in. TV.

Gaming is perfect
Blue Ray is outstanding.
Price was fantastic.
Shipping was free.
No sales tax.
Delivery was a little dicey with no real way to track it but it showed up on time and in perfect condition.
It may cost me 15 - 20 dollars per year in energy cost over an LCD.
I'm a happy camper.

2. What convinced you to purchase this particular "Model".
Bought two UN55D6900's first and returned both of them due to jittery picture. Was told the PN6500 had all the same features. It doesn't.

3. What you like best about your Plasma.
3D Picture. Blu Ray picture

4. What you don't like about your Plasma.
TV is too heavy for the stand and it leans back.

5. What "Feature(s)" you wish your Plasma had.
Full web browsing

6. What advice or suggestion would you make to the "Manufacture" about your Plasma.
Make the qwerty side of the remote illuminate like the TV side does.

7. What was your biggest "Surprise" after you received your Plasma.
How many problems I have had so far trying to buy a new Samsung TV

8. What "Problems or Issues" have you had with your Plasma.
TV Leans back. Light level changes when in "relax mode" Screen goes darker 10 seconds after placing the TV in "standard" mode

9. Do you really think that todays "Prices" are worth it.
Prices are getting better

10. Any additional information that you want to add is encouraged.
Looks like I am about to return my third Samsung. Would get the Panasonic if the TV Bezel didn't look so outdated. Should have kept my LN52B630. It worked great.

2. What convinced you to purchase this particular "Model": CNET Reviews, Side by Side In store picture quality, aesthetics.

3. What you like best about your Plasma: Picture, aesthetics.

4. What you don't like about your Plasma: Leans back on stand, badly.

5. What "Feature(s)" you wish your Plasma had: Should have come with Skype for Samsung like D8000 (bad enough no QWERTY remote).

6. What advice or suggestion would you make to the "Manufacturer" about your Plasma: Webcam compatibility if not loading software/firmware for Skype and Samsung camera. FIX STAND ISSUE. QWERTY standard as in press materials.

7. What was your biggest "Surprise" after you received your Plasma: Blown away by 3D. I didn't think I'd even use it.

8. What "Problems or Issues" have you had with your Plasma: Aforementioned STAND dilemma, SmartHub is slow.

9. Do you really think that todays "Prices" are worth it: Compared to 5 years ago, yes. This set's price was fair amongst competition.

10. Any additional information that you want to add is encouraged. Thought about going with the VT but liked the look of this set better. Was looking at the LED D7000 originally was well as Sony NX720. Glad I went plasma.

3. What you like best about your Plasma. AWESOME picture quality right out of the box (in THX), and, most importantly, no noticeable gaming input lag! (This thing ROCKS for gaming!)

4. What you don't like about your Plasma. N/A!

5. What "Feature(s)" you wish your Plasma had. This TV has every feature I could possibly ever want. I think a “Wii-like” remote (similar to that from LG) would be cool.

6. What advice or suggestion would you make to the "Manufacture" about your Plasma. Panasonic- throw your customers a freakin’ bone and throw in at least 1 pair of 3D glasses for their new 3D TV!

7. What was your biggest "Surprise" after you received your Plasma. THX + Blue Ray= Match made in Heaven!

8. What "Problems or Issues" have you had with your Plasma. No problemos so far!

9. Do you really think that todays "Prices" are worth it. I got my TV for a steal of a deal, but even the ‘regular’ recent sale prices are more than worth it for this TV!

10. Any additional information that you want to add is encouraged. I have to say my main goal for purchasing a new TV was to find the best TV for gaming. My previous TV was a Sony Bravia 42” 1080/60Hz LCD (which I really enjoyed), but wanted to upgrade in size and quality. I purchased an LG 47LW5600 LED TV that had great picture quality, but horrendous gaming input lag (even with recommended settings from here and other sites).

Back to the drawing board I went, and started to look at the possibility of a plasma TV, based on the recommendation of several hard-core gamer friends. After much research I was pretty disappointed at first to see that IR was still a ‘serious’ issue. Not to mention the recommended “100+hour” break-in period with limited to no gaming- FORGET THAT!!! Fortunately, most of the IR issues with the GT30 seem to be from people who watch ‘white’ or ‘green’ screens, sit exactly 1.2’ away, with a 60 degree viewing angle, and then, and only then, notice a ‘slight’ IR that just ‘pisses’ them off about their TV- give me a freakin’ break people!! I remembered I’m not that anal about things and decided to buy a plasma, with the Panasonic GT30 being my first choice. Well the TV Gods must have smiled on me because at that moment I was able to get a great deal on a 55” GT30, got it delivered, set it up, watched 1 movie (LOTR-Fellowship of the Ring in BR), then started gaming! I wouldn’t hesitate to say (even at the expense of making the ‘religious’ plasma freaks pass out) that I gamed a minimum of 80 hours out of the first 100 hours of owning my set. “Break-in period” be damned!! MW3, Skyrim, and Assassin’s Creed on PS3 took the honor of being my games of choice and I still can’t believe how awesome this TV is for gaming (no noticeable input lag)! Also, I’ve yet to see any hint of IR in my normal viewing, as I refuse to sit and watch a ‘white’ screen to look for it!

Every day I game or watch movies on my TV I have a huge smile on my face, and that’s all that matters.

2. What convinced you to purchase this particular "Model": After doing some research, I went to check this one out and a few others. I liked the picture the best.

3. What you like best about your Plasma: The picture is amazing. I watched some bowl games last night and they looked incredible. Zero motion blur! I love watching football, so this was important for me.

4. What you don't like about your Plasma: I've only had it for one day, but nothing so far.

5. What "Feature(s)" you wish your Plasma had: None that I can think of.

6. What advice or suggestion would you make to the "Manufacture" about your Plasma: None at this time.

7. What was your biggest "Surprise" after you received your Plasma: How great the picture looked in my living rooms lighting conditions.

8. What "Problems or Issues" have you had with your Plasma: None at this time.

9. Do you really think that todays "Prices" are worth it: YES! I paid less for this than my Samsung LED-DLP 4-years ago.

6. What advice or suggestion would you make to the "Manufacturer" about your Plasma.Lose the chrome edging

7. What was your biggest "Surprise" after you received your Plasma.how big it was

8. What "Problems or Issues" have you had with your Plasma.Just bought it yesterday...no problems/issues thus far

9. Do you really think that todays "Prices" are worth it.Was an "open box" buy at Best Buy. Previous customer found it too large for their setting and returned it for a smaller unit. Definitely worth the price!

2. What convinced you to purchase this particular model? PQ, amazing sale price, internet connectivity, forum support for the model is amazing, 2011 tv of the year

3. What you like best about your Plasma. 65" size and PQ

4. What you don't like about your Plasma. Size, but it is for now the biggest VT30, did not want to wait to see if the 2012 vt50's were bigger, and would be much more expensive than the end of year deal I got on the 65". The 2nd gen one pair of 3D glasses that came with the set substandard--probably give them to get rid of stock. Since they are dated glasses, Pani could have at least put two sets of the 2nd gen glasses in the box--they sure won't be selling 2nd gens at MSRP! Bought a set of 3rd gen Pani glasses...they are much better. And one set of glasses? Come on, Pani, how about 2 sets?!?! Few people view 3d alone.

6. What advice or suggestion would you make to the "Manufacturer" about your Plasma. Make the power cord swappable, like on a printer; lose the silver frame around the tv

7. What was your biggest "Surprise" after you received your Plasma. Built in 2d to 3D comversion; ARC funtionality; remote app works great with my iPad 2

8. What "Problems or Issues" have you had with your Plasma. First one arrived with four dead pixels, had to swap for a second one. Thankfully was an August build with EPROM update and later serial number so no FBr or board issues

9. Do you really think that todays "Prices" are worth it. I paid $700 less for this Panasonic 65VT30 than what I paid for my Pioneer 5070HD (a 50" Plasma I still love) on end of year discount 5 or 6 years ago. The 65VT30 definitely would not have been worth full $4k MSRP, but bought it new at end of the year for a fantastic discount. Yes, the 2012 Pani VT50's will be announced in a few days, but only early adopter consumers with no connections generally pay full MSRP . . . I would have had to wait for end of year consumer level discount sale on a VT50 . . . So, would have been Nov/Dec for a super sale on a 2012 VT50. For me, this was a simple choice in the now for bang for the buck on a 2011 VT30 65". Even though you can spend more on an 80" TV now, I wanted the highest quality I could get in a consumer level plasma and the Pani 65VT30 at an extreme discount, and as the selected 2011 plasma HDTV of the year, and not wanting to wait another year, I am very impressed with what I bought! Yes, you still have to wear glasses for 3D, but we are a long way from a consumer priced no-glasses 3D tv. As well, since 3D tv's are generally more tech intensive in general, the 65VT30 has already proved a great 2D viewing tv. For a few dollars more, really, just a few . . . I am having an outstanding 2D viewing experience! In fact, for just a few dollars more than a 2d only Pani model, I would have bought the 65vt30 even for 2d viewing only

10. Any additional information that you want to add is encouraged: if you buy, you really want to do a 100 hour break-in slides, at least 200 hours for gaming. Just setting up the slides out of the box on this plasma, "menu" burned in . . . But the burn-in/break-in slides took care of that quickly . . . Started using set after 200 hours of conditioning slides and now have zero Image Retention. if you do not condition the tv out of the box, chances are you will have significant IR problems. Also, the break-in slides I ran on the first set revealed four dead (not stuck) pixels in the first 24 hours of running them...without the slides I might not have known about the dead pixels until after my allotted return time. After seeing the dead pixels on the slides, was able to swap for same new model fast. Zero problems on the 2nd unit.

Bottom line? At a discount, this is an amazing, feature rich 65" plasma!

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by! --Douglas Adams

3. What you like best about your Plasma. It has a beautiful picture. It also it in the wall where the old TV was located almost perfectly. Just a slight tweak and a new wall mount from monoprice.com.

4. What you don't like about your Plasma. nothing

5. What "Feature(s)" you wish your Plasma had. Has everything I need.

6. What advice or suggestion would you make to the "Manufacturer" about your Plasma. Add the 3D glasses in the purchase.

7. What was your biggest "Surprise" after you received your. It had a September build with a serial number that made me happy.

8. What "Problems or Issues" have you had with your Plasma. I have had it since it was delivered Christmas Eve day and it had worked flawlessly.

9. Do you really think that today's "Prices" are worth it. In 2004 I paid more than 4K for a Mitsubishi Diamond Series 65" rear projection with a great picture. This one is even better at almost 1/2 the price.

2. What convinced you to purchase this particular "Model".
I am a fan of the 8g Kuro sets, and finally found a 9g at a reasonable price (used).

3. What you like best about your Plasma.
The black levels, and the color accuracy.

4. What you don't like about your Plasma.
Nothing really to complain about, but if I had to complain it would be that I wish the 111 had its inputs from underneath vs how they come right off the back of the set as (opposed to my 8g), had to use an hdmi elbow when wall mounting.

5. What "Feature(s)" you wish your Plasma had.
Has everything I am looking for in a tv, I didn't want 3d or a "Smart" tv.

6. What advice or suggestion would you make to the "Manufacture" about your Plasma.
Get back in the tv business.

7. What was your biggest "Surprise" after you received your Plasma.
How great the pq was, and the improvement over my 4280.

8. What "Problems or Issues" have you had with your Plasma.
Have to unlock the set to get the most out of it, need to have the tv plugged in and hooked up to control cal to adjust settings when using isf day/night modes.

9. Do you really think that todays "Prices" are worth it.
Purchased used so this doesn't apply.

Mine is not new now, I actually bought it last year when are other one blew on Christmas day! I went out and started looking at LCD, LED and Plasmas. I immediately concluded that I didn't like LCD or LED due to non-smooth jerky motion of fast moving objects on the screen, even with higher hertz systems, also to me the color didn't seem quite right, too harsh in appearance for my taste. So I started looking at Plasma's and fell in love with the picture quality. After looking at a bunch of different brands the Panasonic Viera and the LG seemed to have the best picture with a slight edge toward the Panasonic. And since I knew that LG was the old Gold Star company known for low quality stuff I was a bit leery of them, probably not for good reasons today. So I ended up getting a 42" because the one place had it on sale for $429. Then I also decided to modernize my DVD/VCR combo to a Panasonic Blu-Ray and got a BDT210 Neither are top of the line Panasonic but I don't really get much into video and my wife doesn't care, so going from a 27" tube tv to a 42" was a big difference for us. I also felt anything too big would draw the center of attention of the room towards the TV.

Picture quality wise the Panasonic TV is great...actually more like fantastic. But being a lower end set the speakers are not that great. However my wife doesn't really care about sound quality, only I do, but for watch tv shows it's fine, but when we watch movies I put it through a pair of JBL L7's and get the realism of the sound.

Side note, the BluRay player models BDT210 (the one I got) and the 310 has simulated tube sound for playing CDs. It does seem a bit different then playing it through the Marantz CD player, is it better? I don't know, just different. But I leave it on the tube sound effect for everything just because it seem a tiny bit smoother.

Two and a half weeks ago bought the Panasonic TC-P42ST30. I originally thought I'd get an LED set, but after reading here and actually seeing the edge lighting of the LED's shining through I went with the plasma. I went ahead with the ST30 instead of the S30 based on better specs and I couldn't be more pleased with the picture. The build date on the set is November 2011, so I shouldn't have any issues with floating blacks. Also I haven't noticed any pink or green blobs. I didn't buy the set for it's 3d capabilities but hope to try that out in the not too distant future.

The model plasma I have: Panasonic plasma TCP54vt25
I am in love with it
Comcast HD package
Panasonic blu Ray
Samsung dvd home theater in a box ( my next project in upgrading this system)
several blu Ray: 50+
many dvds: 200+
6500K backlight
and got work on wire management: Ha

2. What convinced you to purchase this particular "Model".
LCD screens look unnaturally bright to me, I am just a plasma guy I guess. I wanted my TV to look its best watching movies in a relatively dark room, as opposed to watching football on sunny Sunday afternoon.

I took a hard look at the corresponding Samsung (PN64D7000?) because of good reviews and because it was aggressively priced at my preferred dealer (Abt). But I just liked the Panasonic picture better. I have really loved my TC-P58VT25 and didn't want to switch. Abt gave me an equally-aggressive price for the Panasonic and that sealed the deal. The next level up TVs (Sharp, Elite) were really nice but too expensive to justify the $$ for me, YMMV.

3. What you like best about your Plasma.
I feed immersed in what I'm watching and the picture just seems natural and never intrudes, and if I ever stop to notice the picture, I always feel "wow that's a really nice TV picture," ...except...

4. What you don't like about your Plasma.
...it's not a star performer when there's bright sunlight in the room. The glass panel in the TC-P65 makes this slightly worse than the TC-P58, BUT the trade-off with the glass is the peace of mind knowing that screen is protected. And the TV looks like a giant iPad, if you like that aesthetic, which I do. So if had the choice I'd keep the glass, at least while I have kids.

5. What "Feature(s)" you wish your Plasma had.
Can't think of one with the TC-P65VT30.
With the TC-P58VT25, I'm a little p-o'ed that the Panasonic iPad apps don't support it. I have a two-year old ethernet-connected TV and it seems they've abandoned it. Not nice.

6. What advice or suggestion would you make to the "Manufacture" about your Plasma.
Support it generously on the software side, it's a trust/coolness/loyalty thing.
Also, use Apple as your standard for user-interface elegance and simplicity. Like the Apple TV remote, for example. With the TC-P65, HDMI 1 maps to keypad 2, HDMI 2 maps to keypad 3... remote has a gazillion cheap soft squishy buttons, etc. ... it's not bad at all compared to other TVs, but it could be so much better.

7. What was your biggest "Surprise" after you received your Plasma.
How much thinner and better designed for wall-mounting the latest TC-P65VT30 is compared to the TC-P58VT25. It's nice even if you don't wall-mount.

8. What "Problems or Issues" have you had with your Plasma.
None, ever.

9. Do you really think that todays "Prices" are worth it.
Yes, I bought one and liked it enough to buy another one. They do keep getting better.

Can't believe it has been four years already. Still loving this set and its "perfect" picture, well, ya know what I mean....just breathtaking picture....no real problems encountered.....never a stuck pixel in all these years. Yes, the blacks could be better but that is always the case it seems.

P.S. I find it amusing when I read about some of the weight complaints on 60/65 inch pannys for the more current models. A quick look shows them weighing in around 90 lbs. LOL, this baby, at 58" weighs a hefty 165 lbs. I am just glad to see that the weights are thankfully coming down over the years so my next purchase will be a light weight even if I go up in size.

2. I was all set to get the ST30 but no stores (BB) within 20 miles had them in stock. Sears came to the rescue with an online midnight madness sale where the GT was cheaper than in the stores stores and they had free delivery. pulled trigger

3. I like the HD best. I've been without TV for a couple months, my old was a beautiful 32" Sony WEGA CRT that died on me. HD is truly amazing looking.

4. I really don't like the blatant Fluctuating Brightness. It's broke out of the box. My model is from July 2011 and suffers from that problem. Also, sound is less than stellar but I sort of expected that. Don't really like the config on the remote.

5. Things I wish it had...everything my old TVs had
Dual Tuner or multi-signal PiP
PiP in general
Enter key for channel entry - I hate waiting that 1.5 seconds
Time display when changing channels
Favorites Preview in PiP windows
Commercial Skip - hit a button to start a 30 second timer...change channels. When the timer is up it takes you right back to the channel you started on. Hit butting multiple times to add additional 30 seconds. Best TV feature ever.

6. message to the manufacture: If it takes you 2 years to get it right, take the 2 years and get it right. Charge an extra whatever you need to charge but at least the buyer will know they are getting a well designed and tested product

8. Having had it for just a week, the only problems I've noticed are the fluctuating brightness and some odd sound issues which may just be a result of enabling the surround effect.

9. Today's prices are totally worth it. I was ready to buy a Plasma a few years ago and was looking to spend almost twice what I payed for my new one. This new one is better in every aspect and cheaper. Well worth the price.

10. The only advice I can give is if you buy a beautiful widescreen television, don't watch any programming all stretched out. It completely defeats the purpose of the TV.